"And briefly, when the sun had gone
to rest, So had I spoken with them, every one, That I was of their fellowship anon, And made agreement that we'd early rise To take the road, as I will to you apprise. ..." --General
Prologue

Introduction: Call me Tapestry... As of
2006, I had already attended three Burning Man festivals. My previous trips
to Burning Man took me throughout the American Southwest, on adventures
past many interesting and historical sites. In 2006, I decided to do things
a little differently. Instead of driving, I took a cross-country train.
Instead of sleeping in my car, I took a tent. Instead of loading myself
up with everything I might possibly need, I packed only the bare essentials.
Instead of taking on all the responsibility for my journey, I elected to
trust in the kindness of others to help me along the way.

The
quotes at the top of each page are from "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey
Chaucer, written around 1400. It is the story of a group of people from
all walks of life who travel as pilgrims on their way to the Shrine of
Saint Thomas à Becket in Canterbury, England. In the Middle Ages,
people believed that a pilgrimage to a holy place would help purge them
of their sins. Islamic law still requires devout Muslims to make a pilgrimage,
or Haj, to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetimes.

As they travel, Chaucer's pilgrims tell stories to
each other to kill time on their journey. The stories have various themes,
from romance to humor to drama. Some of the stories are told in what seems
to be a response to an earlier story. What was unique was that Chaucer's
characters were average, everyday people, speaking as everyday people spoke.
(Some translations vary slightly in content. The quotes are reproduced
here in Modern English, but still retain their original flavor.)

Many of the tales seem to be fragments of longer stories.
According to his General Prologue, Chaucer intended for each pilgrim to
tell two tales on their way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back.
That would have been over a hundred little stories. He never finished his
enormous project. Scholars aren't even sure what order the tales are supposed
to be in. Nevertheless, "The Canterbury Tales" remains one of the classics
of English literature. It is also one of the few classics of English literature
that has fart jokes. I'd never read it before. I thought it would be interesting
to read about a journey while going on a journey.

I had never camped in a tent for more than a couple of
nights before. I had never taken a train ride longer than a few hours.
I had never left on so long a trip without my own transportation. There
was much I was leaving to chance. There were many things that could go
terribly wrong. With hope and fear in my heart, I headed out for Burning
Man. I had no idea what would happen...